Very little is known about what happened to Parvati in her first year. During her first flying lesson, Parvati came to the defence of housemate Neville Longbottom when Draco Malfoy threw away his Remembrall. Slytherin student Pansy Parkinson made fun of her for this. Hermione also gave her a hug after Harry won a game of Quidditch against the Hufflepuff team. Parvati also told Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls washroom after Ronald Weasley made fun of her.[4]

Third year

In her third year, Parvati began taking Divination, which soon became her favourite subject. She and Lavender grew close to Professor Trelawney, who believed that Parvati could be a Seer. She also alarmed Parvati by telling her to beware a red-haired man, making Parvati suspicious of Ron Weasley.

Fourth year

Parvati attended the Yule Ball with Harry Potter in 1994. She wore dress robes and gold bracelets. She seemed to enjoy the attention she received for being the date of a famous wizard and was eager to dance. After being ignored by Harry, who was romantically interested in Cho Chang at the time, Parvati spent most of the evening with a boy from Beauxbatons, whom she dated for a time afterwards.

Parvati, Harry, Ron and Padma at the Yule Ball.

Parvati also enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures classes when they were taught by Professor Grubbly-Plank rather than Rubeus Hagrid, as she felt the former was a better qualified teacher. After the Yule Ball, Parvati and Padma acted "very cool" towards their dates, Harry and Ron, who had basically ignored them in favour of staring at Cho and Hermione and refused to dance.[5]

That year, Parvati also became slightly dismayed by her best friend Lavender Brown's romance with Ron Weasley. Although Parvati initially was supportive of her friend's feelings for Ron, as the two seemed to whisper and giggle about him before they began dating, Parvati was put off, and also very embarrassed, by the almost obsessive degree to which Lavender threw herself into the relationship, often snogging him in public, getting possessive when he was with another girl, pestering Harry with questions about his feelings for her, and giving him a necklace that read "my sweetheart". The two remained close, though.

Parvati and Padma returned home the morning after Albus Dumbledore's death at the end of the school year.[7]

Physical appearance

Parvati and Padma were described by Dean Thomas in 1994 as "the two best looking girls in the year". They both have long black hair. Parvati usually wore her hair in a plait.[5] Both Parvati and her sister Padma were usually seen wearing silver necklaces with the letter "P" hanging from the chain around their necks and over their ties during her years at Hogwarts.

Personality and traits

Parvati can be seen as the less serious of the Patil twins; like her friend Lavender Brown, she enjoys gossip and fashion, and the two were often seen whispering and giggling together. They also share a great interest in Divination and are relatively close to Professor Trelawney.[3] Both girls could also be insensitive to others at times, a Gryffindor trait according to RavenclawprefectRobert Hilliard. This was exemplified when they pointed and laughed at Luna Lovegood's radish earrings[6]. Still, Parvati was loyal to those she considered her friends. She stood up to those who treated her friends poorly, such as when she defended Neville Longbottom against Draco Malfoy's taunts[4] and comforted Professor Trelawney after Dolores Umbridge fired her[6]. Parvati is also brave, as her Sorting into Gryffindor house and her participation in the final battle proves[8].

Dueling: Parvati was a good dueler, proven when she dueled Dolohov, Travers and a Masked Death Eater with the help of Dean Thomas. They probably won the duel because they defeated Dolohov and the Death Eater so since Travers was the only Death Eater left she and Dean probably defeated him as well.

Relationships

Padma Patil

Padma Patil is Parvati's twin sister. The girls were separated once they began attending Hogwarts, as Parvati was sorted into Gryffindor and Padma into Ravenclaw, which also indicates differences in their character as Parvati appears to be less serious than her studious sister.

Lavender Brown

Lavender Brown

Lavender Brown was one of Parvati's roommates at Hogwarts and soon became her best friend. The two girls share many interests, including Divination, gossip, and fashion, and are both close to Professor Trelawney[6]. They were often seen around school together, giggling and whispering. Parvati initially supported Lavender in her infatuation with Ron Weasley in their sixth year, but eventually became slightly dismayed with how intensely Lavender threw herself into the relationship[7]. However, the two remained close.

Parvati and Lavender were not as close to their other roommate, Hermione Granger, as they were to each other. Hermione did not share the girls' interests, such as Divination and gossip, which occasionally led to conflict. For example, Parvati and Lavender were both offended on Professor Trelawney's behalf when Hermione made her disdain for the class clear in their third year[3]. However, the girls do not seem to have disliked each other. In 1996, when Hermione was jealous of Lavender dating Ron Weasley, Parvati was noted to feel guilty over having laughed at Ron's cruel teasing of Hermione in Transfiguration, and the two girls discussed Hermione's attendance of the Slug ClubChristmas party with Cormac McLaggen. Since Parvati looked "positively agog" at Hermione sharing this news with her[7], it can be assumed that Hermione seldom confided in her roommates.

Harry Potter

Parvati was not particularly close to Harry Potter, a Gryffindor in her year, but the two attended the 1994Yule Ball together. Parvati was initially pleased with Harry as a date, since his fame gained her a lot of attention. However, Harry neglected to ask Parvati to dance and spent most of the ball staring at Cho Chang, which upset Parvati and led to her leaving his side for a boy from Beauxbatons. Afterwards, Parvati treated Harry coolly[5], but this did not impact her decision to join Dumbledore's Army the following year[6]. In their sixth year, Parvati and Harry both found themselves rather annoyed by their friends' exhibitionist romance[7]. Both of these events may have also indicated her attitude towards Harry had mellowed back to a level of friendship, as she was also talking to him regularly during their O.W.L's.

Sybill Trelawney

Parvati seemed to have a reasonably close relationship with Divination professor Sybill Trelawney; she had an unwavering faith in the reliability of Trelawney's predictions and was often seen comforting or supporting her when she was experiencing difficult times. She and Lavender became offended on the professor's behalf when Hermione made her disdain for Trelawney and the subject she taught clear in 1993. When she was temporarily sacked by Dolores Umbridge, Lavender and Parvati brought Trelawney some nice daffodils. Furthermore, Trelawney had told Parvati that she had the makings of a true seer.

She was a friend of fellow members Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Dean and Seamus seemed to believe that Parvati and her sister, Padma, were the best-looking girls of their year. Furthermore, the romance between Ron and Lavender made both Parvati and Harry feel uncomfortable in 1996. She was also a friend of Neville Longbottom and defended him during their first year, when Pansy Parkinson insulted him.

Etymology

Pārvatī is the name of a Hindu goddess, consort of Shiva and daughter of the Himalayas. Parvati translates into "she of the mountains" in Sanskrit. It may entirely be possible Parvati Patil's name, and her sister's, have been somewhat inspired by the model Padma Parvati Lakshmi. Padma and Parvati are also characters in Midnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie, the latter known mostly as Parvati-the-witch.

Behind the scenes

In the film adaptations of the series, Parvati and Padma are portrayed as fraternal, rather than identical, twins. They are also shown to both be in Gryffindor, whereas in the books, Padma is in Ravenclaw.

In the film version of the Yule Ball, Parvati wears an Indian orange blouse and a pink skirt known in India as a "Lehnga", gold bangles (known in India as Chudiyan), and had gold braided into her hair (known in India as a Parandah Braid). She also seems to be closer to Hermione Granger than she seems to be in the books, and dances with the aide of Igor Karkaroff rather than a boy from Beauxbatons[10].

Notes and references

↑In Deathly Hallows, Ch. 29, Parvati was hiding out in the Room of Requirement with Dumbledore's Army before the members Neville summoned from outside the school began to arrive. This means she attended Hogwarts during the 1997-1998 school year, and must have been either half-blood or pure-blood, as Muggle-borns were banned from the school under Voldemort's regime.

↑In "Chamber of Secrets" Professor Binns says her name wrong, most likely mixing her up with another student.